The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-07-30
FACTS ABOUT Badness.
'"""ie information as to How 1t Gomez
and How to Treat It

L
Medical Society ON badness and its
treatment. He described four varieties
OF badness, or alopecia: l. Alopecia
adnata, the congenital form; 2. A.
senilis; 8. A. premature; 4. A. areata
A. senilis is that form which occurs in
old age, or after the age of forty-five,
and Is often preceded or accompanied
by grayness of the hair. Its cause is a
gradual hardening of the subcutaneous
tissues OF the scalp and diminution of
blood supply, followed by an oblitera-
ton OF the hair follicles. 1t is but one
expression of that general lowering of
nutrition incident to advancing years.
When the scalp is atrophied nothing
can be done in the way of treatment,
but prophylaxis may do great deal in
postponing those changes.
A. premature is that form Of badness
which occurs before the forty-ffth year.
Ut this there are two varieties, the lido
pathic and the symptomatic. The
former occurs most commonly between
the age of twenty-five and thirty-fve,
and is not due to any antecedent or
concomitant disease. 1t differs from
the senile form in occurring at an ear
Icr age, and in being unaccompanied
By other signs of diminished physical
vigor, such as loss of teeth, dullness of
sight and hearing The chief cause of
this variety is heredity. Every one has
known d families in which the fathers
and sonshave become bald at very
early agt Another cause is improper
or deficieit care of the scalp. 1t is a
common Practice for men to souse the
head daily water. Ellinger has noted
this habit in eighty-five per cent. of his
cases of badness. Thinkers and brain
workers are very often bald. Eaton
found, in theaudiences attendant upon
churches and operas in Boston, that
from forty to fifty per cent. of the men
were bald; while in cheap museums and
at prize fights the percentage was only
twelve to twenty-five. Stiff hats may
cause badness by COMPRISING the ar
teries that supply the scalp. Tight and
unyentilated hats make the scalp warm
and cause it to perspire, thus favoring
badness. King says that badness of
the yertex is due to compression by
stiff hats of the arteries which supply
that part The little tuft of hair often
observed on the top of the forehead is
nourished by arteries which escape
pressure.
That women do not become bald so
often as men is probably because they
preserve the cushion of fat under the
scalp longer than men do. They do
not wear their hats as much as men;
nor are these so closely fitting, or made
of such impermeable material. They
also give more attention to the hair,
and do not wet the head so often. OF
all these reasons DIR. Jackson regards
the preservation of the fat and connec-
tive tissue of the scalp, and the greater
care Of the scalp, as the most impor-
tant.
The treatment of this variety of bald
ness is mainly one of prophylaxis and
hygiene. In families where it is hered-
itary this should begin at birth and
continue through life. The scalp should
be kept clean by an occasional sham
poo of soap and water, borax and water,
or some such simple means. This
should not be repeated oftener than
once in two or three weeks; and after
the washing the scalp should be care
fully dried, and vaseline or sweet-al-
mond oil applied. Women should dry
the hair by the fire. or in the sun, and
not dress it until dry. The hair should
be thoroughly brushed and combed
daily, for five or ten minutes, with
vigor sufficient to make the scalp
glow. For this a brush should have
long and moderately stiff bristles, set
in groups widely separated from each
other. Such a brush will reach the
scalp, and brush out the dust A comb
with large, smooth teeth should be used
with the brush, to open up the hair to
the air. Pomades should not be used,
and the daily sousing of the hair dis
continued. Women should not use
bandoline, nor pull or twist the hair,
noy scorch it with curling irons, nor
smother it under false hair. Easy fit
ting, light and ventilated hats should
he worn, and working under hot arti-
fetal light should be avoided. Mr..
Goninlock, writing on badness, gives
it as his opinion that it is due principally
to the high hat and the hard felt hat,
and to any other covering that con-
stricts the blood vessels which nourish
the hair bulbs. Few, he says, will es-
cape the evil effects of twenty or thirty
years OF rigid tight-ftting hats, the
destructive process being delayed only
by the length and frequency of respite
from this tourniquet of fashion.
Science.
"A nameless professor relates the
following: During the after-dinner
talk. the man for whom l was survey
ing remarked that mathematics always
seemed very wonderful thing to him.